Pineapple Princesses began as a tribute to Ruby Borrowdale, the home economist behind the 'Golden Circle Tropical Recipe Book' tested in the Golden Circle kitchen and modified and updated in the Pineapple Princesses' test kitchens.
As Ruby said "pineapple is a versatile food" . . .
no fat, high in vitamin C and full of the flavour of Queensland sunshine. The blog continues as more and more pineapple recipes are discovered from around the world.

Thursday, 21 January 2016

Our daughter, Ella, spent most of 2015 in Bangladesh working with CARE. She was able to go exploring occasionally and visited a pineapple plantation while in Srimangal.

Les and I joined Ella and a friend, Sarah, in India last October. These photos are a small part of the experience (the important pineapply part) !

Pineapple and tea growing together near New Jalpaiguri, West Bengal.

While staying at Floatel Hotel in Kolkata I taste tested all the cocktails/mocktails on offer that contained pineapple juice! Starting with an "Ice Berg Lagoon: litchi juice, pineapple juice, Blue Curacao and VanillaCream".

"Cinderella: orange and pineapple with raspberry syrup, chopped fruit, top up with soda".

Saturday, 9 January 2016

The
Cuisine of the South Pacific, Gwen Skinner, Photography by Michael
Willison, 1983 New Zealand, Photo of Gwen Skinner by Derek Hunt

“The
South Pacific conjures up visions of a paradise of waving coconut
palms, coral reefs, white sands, and a tropical climate. It has all
of those things, but it also has a wide geographical and cultural
diversity and not the least of its splendours is its food."

Bring
the chicken to the boil in water with onion, then simmer until
tender. Remove chicken and cut meat into serving pieces. Discard
bones, etc. Strain stock which will have reduced to about 2 cups. Add
milk, salt, pepper and curry powder to stock. Bring to the boil,
thicken with cornflour mixed in a little water, cook gently for a few
minutes, just under boiling point if coconut cream is used, then add
chicken pieces.

Preheat
oven to 180°C.
Pat chicken pieces dry, place skin side up in a baking pan. Drain
fruit and reserve syrup. Mix syrup with soya sauce and garlic, pour
over chicken and bake uncovered, basting the chicken and turning
pieces until all are golden brown, about an hour. Remove chicken to
warming drawer.

Add
Sweet and Sour Sauce to baking pan liquid, bring to the boil over
medium heat, and cook until the liquid thicken and reduces to about 2
cups. Pour this over the chicken pieces, cover with foil, and
refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Bake
chicken and sauce, uncovered, in 180°C
oven for 30 minutes. Add fruit to dish and baste often while cooking
a further 30 minutes.

Peel,
wash and boil the kumaras in salted water for 15 minutes. Drain, cut
lengthwise and place with the flat side up in a roasting dish. Put
juice, pineapple pieces, sugar and vinegar in a pot, mix cornflour
and water together then add. Simmer, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until
thickened. Pour sauce over the kumaras and bake in a medium oven 10
minutes, turning them over after 5 minutes.

Sprinkle
with nutmeg and cook a little longer. Serve with roast wild pork or
pork chops.

1. Place the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry frying pan and heat for 2-3 minutes, shaking the pan constantly.

2. Place the roasted spices and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle or clean coffee grinder and work them until they are finely ground. Wrap the shrimp paste in a small amount of foil and cook under a hot grill for 3 minutes, turning the package twice.

3. Process the ground spices, roasted shrimp paste, nutmeg and chillies in a food processor for 5 seconds. Add the remaining ingredients and process for 20 seconds at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula each time, until the mixture forms a smooth paste.

Makes approximately 1 cup.

Ann's friend Brad found these fabulous spoons from Hawaii and Brisbane for her for Christmas.